School
by Proudtobepack
Summary: WARNING: MASS CHARACTER DEATH. NOT A HAPPY FANFICTION! and goes off topic a lot. Zack/Cloud and Rude/Reno pairings


**School**

_A.N: I'll say it now, This fanfiction is not happy. If you're look for a happy fic, turn around and hit the back button. This fanfiction involves character death. Mass character death and probably wont be completely understood unless you read some of my other fanfictions. I ended it badly but I was sick of working on this. It ended up being twenty-two pages long and more than eleven thousand five hundred words. I really hope some of you enjoy this at least, so if you think you can handle it, read on. _

_Don't say I didn't warn you._

With one tragedy came another it seemed. Though, depending on who you asked, it could be considered many tragedies.

The year seemed promising, at the beginning. Cloud moved to the school district from wherever he lived before, and had met Zack on his first day. Who had so predictably helped him find his classes, being the 'Fair Prince' he was. The two became quick friends, which was a relief to Cloud's guardians, knowing he had at least one friend to rely on, and Zack wasn't the only friend the blond managed to make. Angeal, Reno, Rude, Aerith, Tidus, lots of Zack's closer friends became Cloud's friends as well.

Then Zack's mother got a letter, stating that Zack's father had died in a small skirmish in battle. Luckily, Zack didn't know his father that well, so the news didn't devastate him. He was sad about it, but he didn't dwell on it. All of his friends gave him support, especially a certain blond he had just met that year; Cloud. The blond was probably more upset about the death then Zack was himself. But that was to be expected with how the blond felt about parents, not having met his birth parents.

It was shortly after the passing of Zack's father that Zack realized something, his feelings for Cloud were more then he had thought they were, surprising him a bit. He hadn't noticed when his feelings went from being 'just friends' to something 'more then friends'. He contemplated telling Cloud; usually he wouldn't think so long about something like this, being impulsive sometimes. But he took a while to consider Cloud's own feelings and especially what the blond had told him about his life.

Eventually though, Zack decided to go for it, hoping he wouldn't get rejected, he didn't want to stop being friends with Cloud. But he knew if he did this, and if Cloud didn't return his feelings the same way, it'd probably be too awkward for them to be close friends like they were. It was a risk, a big one, but Zack didn't want to not risk it and wonder the rest of his life. So one day, while the two were hanging out at Cloud's house in his room, Zack willed up the guts and confidence to lean over and press his lips against Cloud's; knowing it'd be easier to just show his feelings than tell them. He let his lips linger, waiting for Cloud's either rejection or return, but there was nothing, Cloud was still. Zack pulled back a little and pressed another kiss to Cloud's lips, trying to prompt him into giving some sort of reaction.

After another failed attempt, Zack leaned away, concern on his face when he saw how blank Cloud's face was, aside from slow, seemingly confused blinking. He turned his gaze to the bed before shifting and sighing mentally. "Sorry…" He had murmured loud enough for Cloud to hear before he stood and headed out of the room, hurrying through the halls to the front door, having been over enough to know his way around the house. His steps drew one of Cloud's guardian's eyes up in surprise, having been looking at a book.

Vincent raised a brow at Zack's passing figure in the doorframe, the teenager having to pass the living room where Vincent and Cloud's other guardian Cid sat currently. Cid managed to look up when Zack passed quickly, glancing over to Vincent who made to get up, having put down his book. Cid lifted a hand and shook his head, his pilot magazine forgotten in his lap. "No, jus' wai'." The scruffy blond grunted, lowering his hand to return to holding his magazine, but he kept his eyes up at the doorway. Vincent eased himself back into his chair, sending Cid a suspicious look before turning his gaze back to the doorway.

The two men only had to wait a minute before Cloud went rushing past, yanking the door open and trying not to slam it on his way out. The two in the living room gave each other looks before shrugging and returning to their reading material, letting it go for the time being.

Zack had been down the street, walking back towards his house in near shame, regretting what he'd done, scolding himself mentally and grumbling not so pleasant things to himself. Cloud glanced down the other way, opposite to Zack when he got outside, then turned his head to Zack's direction, eyes wide when he saw Zack still in sight. He took off after Zack, taking only a few seconds to reach the older teenager and crash into his back, arms wrapping around him in a tight hug to both stabilize himself and to simply hug the other.

After a teary Cloud assured Zack he'd only been surprised and he did indeed like Zack like that, the two returned to Cloud's home, the blond tugging Zack back through the house by their connected hands, back towards his room in the back of the house.

Cid looked up when he heard the door open, as did Vincent, and the two adults watched the two teenagers pass by. Vincent eyed the open doorway a bit while Cid went back to his magazine "I tol' ya. Nothin' ta worry 'bout." He had grunted again, causing Vincent to roll his eyes and return to his book.

Things calmed down for a while after that, the next school day after first period, the news of Cloud and Zack getting together was all over the school, being spread like wildfire by the gossipers. Zack didn't care though, so far, there was nothing bad being said about them. Which was surprising to Zack a little, but he was grateful for it.

Their friends had all seemingly already known; none of them were surprised about it. Reno had even gotten up from his spot with Rude under the tree to collect some money from Tidus, having bet when the two would get together it seemed. That made Zack laugh, while it made Cloud blush a bit and hide his face in Zack's chest, being a little embarrassed by that, which Zack found cute.

Things were easy going after that, only one or two bad things got spread about Cloud and Zack, but those were put to an end by their friend's, especially Reno and Angeal. Reno having a temper and Angeal being far too protective to allow things like that to be spread about his friends. Reno would just threaten them, knowing they wouldn't dare do it again because than he'd tell Rude about it. And no one messed with Rude, especially about Reno. The bald student was… A little touchy when it came to that.

After the hockey season ended for the year, Angeal decided to throw them all a party, inviting all of them and a some other students from the school over to his place for the party, being one for Zack's birthday next week actually, a surprise early birthday party. He planned on getting everyone there and then them all jumping Zack with the surprise, getting Cloud in on it as well. The blond thought it was a great idea and got Zack there early to help set up, knowing the older teenager would find it ironic that he helped set up for his own birthday party.

After Zack and Cloud arrived, a few of Angeal's friends arrived, being friends of his that weren't mutual to the rest of the group. Reno and Rude showed up a while after that and people just started to flow into the house, most being Zack's closer friends. Zack and Cloud had been cuddled comfortably on the couch, watching people take turns on Angeal's rockband game.

When the time came, Cloud wiggled out of Zack's grip and scampered off to the kitchen, telling Zack to stay put. Zack had questioned the blond mentally for a few moments before shrugging it off and figuring he had to use the bathroom or something. He didn't notice how people slowly dwindled from the living room, only three people besides himself remaining. Aerith, Reno and Zidane were all playing the game before suddenly it seemed like there had been a power outage, everything in the house going out. Really, Angeal had one of their friends pull the breaker, turning everything off, leaving the house black.

Zack stood from the couch and glanced around, before a source of light was suddenly in view, sixteen tiny flames flickering, from sixteen candles on a cake, that was being held by Cloud, the fire being just enough light to show Cloud's face.

Zack blinked in surprise before grinning and realizing what was happening when Cloud quietly sang the first part to the traditional happy birthday song, everyone else picking up as the house returned to light. Cloud had stepped closer to Zack while singing, holding the cake higher for Zack when the song ended, letting Zack blow out the sixteen candles with one go.

Their friends cheered as he did, giving him pats on the back or shoulder, Angeal ruffled his hair and Cloud gave him a kiss, while Reno had pounced on his back playfully and nearly strangled the older teenager. Rude managed to pry the redhead off of him and kept a grip on him, rolling his eyes and smiling at whatever Reno said to him.

The cake was brought to the kitchen, where it was cut up and distributed. Angeal however, groaned and shook his head, having not gotten enough soda for everyone. He fished his truck keys out of his pocket and announced he was making a trip to the store. Zack made to go with him, but Angeal smiled and pushed him back a bit, telling him to stay and enjoy the party with Cloud and everyone else. Reno jumped at the chance and gave Rude a kiss goodbye and scampered off after Angeal, feeling the need to get out of the house for a little bit. Rude smiled and told Reno he'd be waiting.

Cloud smiled and handed Zack a plate of cake and ice cream, knowing the elder teen would enjoy it. Zack grinned and chirped a thank you while pressing a kiss to Cloud's cheek, getting a grin out of the blond. Zack deemed the plateful of sugar too much for just himself and got Cloud into sharing it with him, having pulled the blond into a quiet corner a good ways away from everyone, but not reclusively so. While they were eating, people would stop by and talk with them for a minute before handing over gifts to Zack. Making him blush a bit and thank every person who handed him a gift, whether it was just a card or an actual box.

Sure, it was his birthday party, but it was his _early_ birthday party. He hadn't expected gifts yet. But he did accept them none the less.

Tidus arrived rather late, finding Zack quickly and apologizing about it which only got a shake of the sophomore's head and a wave of his hand, assuring Tidus it was fine.

Said blond seemed almost… Twitchy as he looked about, glancing around wildly as if looking for someone. Zack raised a brow at him, and as did Cloud, both wondering what was into the blond. After a minute of failed see who he was looking for, Tidus turned back to Zack, but the look on his face made Zack blink in surprise and cautiously speak.

"Tidus? What's wrong?" He'd asked a bit hesitantly, glancing at Cloud before looking back at the other blond.

"Where's Angeal? Is he here?" He asked a worry filled expression on his face; it even appeared that he was biting at his lip. Zack eyed Tidus a bit before looking back at Cloud.

"As far as I know, he's still out getting soda, you haven't seen him?" He told Tidus, and then asked Cloud, wanting to be sure. Cloud shook his head and frowned a bit.

"No, I haven't seen him. He's still out I think." Cloud answered, looking at Zack before turning his blue eyes, almost identical to Zack's, back to Tidus.

By know, Tidus's near franticness had drawn a few people over, wondering what the blond was almost freaking out about, seeing how Zack really didn't mind that he was late.

"He took his truck?" He asked further, ignoring the few people that had gathered, Rude, Aerith, and one of Angeal's buddies had joined the small group, all curious as to what Tidus was getting at.

"Yea, he took it. Why? What's going on, Tidus?" Zack asked, frowning a bit at the blond's dodginess and overall reactions to the answers he got. The blond groaned and placed his palms over his eyes, fingers in his short hair.

"Because, one the way here I thought I saw his truck. It was flipped over on the cab and one side was smashed in, someone T-boned him, bad. The other car was completely totaled." He finally announced with another groan. Gasps from the students close enough to hear Tidus erupted immediately while Rude gaped silently and then turned on his heel and rushed out of the house. Tidus blinked and watched him go, turning to look curiously at Zack, who saw the question in his eyes only to groan himself.

"Reno was with Angeal," He answered, running a hand through his hair, Cloud was shocked to silence, shaking a little beside Zack. When Zack noticed he wrapped an arm around Cloud tightly and hugged him to his side. He turned his eyes to Tidus and sighed. "Were there any ambulances on the scene?" He asked, knowing they'd be deployed but if they weren't there they could just go straight to the hospital. His festive, birthday mood dead now that he'd gotten the news about his friends.

"There was one, I think, but it wasn't by the truck, it was by the van that hit them." Tidus answered, fidgeting a bit. Zack nodded and turned to Cloud, "C'mon, let's see if Rude left yet," He said, grasping his hand and tugging him after him. He himself didn't see how he wasn't completely and utterly devastated, from the news, but it must have been his optimistic personality, hoping that both of his friends were okay and not hurt very badly.

Cloud followed after Zack and the two got lucky, Rude having been just sitting behind his wheel when Zack tapped on his window, getting the elder student to look up at them. He nodded and Zack opened the door for Cloud, walking around and getting in the front with Rude, and silently they all headed off to the hospital.

~o~

_Flashback_

Angeal had chuckled while Reno climbed into his small truck, it being an older ford with a just three spots for someone to sit, and the middle was very awkward so typically it was jus ta two-person vehicle.

"So, what brings Red with me?" He asked with a smile, putting the keys into the ignition and starting the truck, it sputtering just a tad before roaring to life. Reno grinned and pulled the seat belt on, it being a habit.

"I felt like gettin' outta the house. I woulda told Rude, but I wanna get him somethin' at the store." Reno answered, having to grin at the nickname. He didn't like that nickname, what so ever, but he for some reason didn't mind it from Angeal. Probably because he respected him so much. Angeal nodded in understanding and backed out of his driveway carefully, turning to look at where he was going before turning his eyes back to the road, gesturing to the radio a bit

"You can turn on the radio if you want, may be an old truck, but it's got a decent radio" He informed with a smile, pulling up to a stop sign before going on. Reno nodded and gladly started to fiddle with the old radio, pausing at anything that came in clear before settling on a station, happening to be the local rock station, but it played a little of everything.

The ride to the store wasn't anything spectacular, though Reno did manage to get Angeal to sing along to a few songs with him. Which surprised the redhead, he hadn't thought that Angeal could sing as well as he did. They also joked about and laughed together, making Reno glad he'd taken the chance to just hang out with Angeal, finding him to be pretty damn awesome.

When they reached the store, Angeal told him he'd be in the truck if he got out before Reno, and told him to take his time. Reno nodded and hurried off to where his small gift for Rude would be located at. He made his way to the counter, a small plastic bag full of treats for his partner. He pulled out his wallet and rung up the candies he'd gotten for Rude, grimacing at what they were before sending them down the conveyer belt, and paid for them. He snatched up his change and placed it into his wallet, then shoved the leather studded wallet into his back pocket and picked up the small bag of candies, heading outside, seeing Angeal sitting in the cab. He'd placed the bags of soda in the bed of the truck, so they'd have plenty of room for their feet still.

Angeal greeted Reno when he climbed into the cab, turning the truck on when Reno'd buckled up.

"What'd you get Rude?" He asked curiously, seeing Reno had put the bag in his pocket. The redhead smiled and removed said bag, holding it up a bit with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

"White chocolate truffle things. I don't like white chocolate, but he loves it, so I thought I'd surprise him with some. He hasn't had any of these in a while if he hasn't gotten any on his own." Reno said with a smile, despite his talking about the rather disgusting treats in his opinion. Angeal chuckled and nodded, backing up and heading out of the parking lot, having put on his own seatbelt when he got into the truck.

Angeal turned the small Chevrolet onto the road, starting on the journey home now. Reno played with the radio a bit more, settling on a more pop-y/hip hop-y station, glancing at Angeal when he noticed the elder had begun to tap along to the beat of the song playing.

"Didn't know you liked this type of music, yo!" Reno said in surprise, which got a chuckle from the elder student. He pulled to a stop at the redlight they'd happened upon and nodded.

"Yea, most people are surprised. I like most music. It gets pretty obscure." He explained with a smile, Reno grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Mine is too! I like everything! You can find a bit of everything on my IPod, yo" He exclaimed, glancing up and saw that the light was green. "It's green, yo" He informed incase Angeal had missed the fact. Angeal simply nodded and chuckled a bit.

"Sorry, was listening to you," He explained before pressing on the gas and getting the vehicle to move forward. Reno nodded happily and turned his head to look out his window as they passed through the intersection; luckily no one had been behind them, so they hadn't upset anyone with the pregnant pause at the redlight.

Had the redhead been looking the other way he might have been able to see the minivan speeding towards them with no intentions of stopping. But neither of them noticed the van until it was too late, too late to get out of the way. Angeal gunned the gas, but the van was too close and instead of smashing into the front driver's side fender it smashed nearly directly into the driver's side door, the force from the van caused the small Chevrolet to tip and roll onto the roof, wheels up in the air as it slid a few feet before coming to a halt.

Reno was flung to the left, but the seat belt kept him from getting jerked to far before he all but bounced off of the safety device and the side of his head cracked against the window he'd been looking at, cracking the glass a little but it didn't break until they were rolled onto the roof. The airbag deployed moments after that and kept Reno from getting bounced around inside the vehicle anymore, though the redhead was unconscious from the blow to his head, a little bit of blood trickled down from the side of his head.

Reno was lucky, compared to Angeal that is, he seemed to take the accident for the both of them. His window had been down but the windshield shattered, luckily neither of them got cut very badly. Though, Angeal's luck seemed to run out there, his door smashed inwardly from where the Van hit the truck, causing quite the indent and his own airbag had already deployed once, and he hadn't replaced it. Which meant his face met the steering wheel rather harshly; the bridge of his nose hitting the area gripped by the hands, cracking and breaking the bone, blood rushing from his nostrils and the cut on his bridge.

The blow left him unconscious, which seemed to be a blessing as the truck rolled he was shoved against the door, which was bent inward with sharp angles, that left his side cut and tattered with lacerations, all bleeding. Various ribs were broken as well, from the seatbelt keeping him from ejecting from the truck.

The driver behind the wheel in the van hadn't faired any better, their own airbag hadn't deployed and they did as Angeal, face smashing against the hard steering wheel and their entire front in came forward, pinning them tightly and breaking bones in the process.

The scene was eerily calm after a moment, smoke hissing from both vehicles but no flames started. All three were unconscious, leaving them rather helpless. Luckily the crash was loud enough to draw people's attention and multiple calls were made, ensuring that help would arrive on the scene.

A police car arrived fist, and after two ambulances arrived, and one more after the initial two. While the paramedics from one ambulance worked on getting Angeal and Reno out of the flipped over Chevrolet, the teams from the other two worked on removing the driver from the van. Police questioned the bystanders; luckily a few people had witnessed the entire accident, able to give full, if not shaky reports.

Reno was extracted from the truck first, than Angeal was carefully removed, the paramedics worked slowly and as carefully as they could manage, knowing if they moved either wrong and if either student had a spine or neck injury, they could be placed in a wheel chair for the rest of their lives, or severely paralyzed. They strapped on neck braces and then strapped them to the gurneys and placed them in individual ambulances, where they were quickly taken to the nearest Hospital with a Trauma center.

~o~

Reno was the first to come around, completely groggy and unfocused. To be expected. He had quite the concussion, from his head being smashed against the windshield. He was immediately given pain killers, shot into the IV that had been put in his arm. He was hooked up to a few other machines, a heart monitor and others. He had bandages wrapped around his head; luckily they hadn't had to shave his head, as he would have had an absolute fit. It took him forever to grow out his ponytail and to have to do it again didn't settle very easily with the redhead and had bandages around his torso. He'd managed to crack a couple ribs.

When he finally got out of the groggy state, his attitude came back full force, especially when the nurse kept demanding for his name so his parents could be contacted of his well being. The mention of his 'parents' seemed to set the redhead off somehow, like a switch. He glared at the woman through the slight blurred vision he had for now. The woman just quirked a brow and jutted out one of her hips, hands on them.

"Look kid, its standard protocol. I have to contact your parents, you're a minor." She huffed a bit, eyes looking disdainfully at the redhead.

"I… ain't gonna tell you nothin'… yo…" He managed, eyes still glaring as he got his throat to work with his words. The nurse rolled her eyes a bit and frowned her pouty lips.

"Kid…" She warned almost darkly, trying to use a harsher tone which only got him to actually smile at her, it was a cocky and smart smile but a smile to Reno none the less.

"No… You'll get my mother's number, than the bitch won't answer. So you'll go for my step-dad's, he might answer and he'll _kill_ me later. I doubt you want… Me coming back here." He ranted a bit, voice harsh and rough but held his wanted tone. She shook her head and sighed, rubbing at her temples.

"Look, kid, we have to tell your parents-"

"As far as I'm concerned, I don't have any. They're dead to me. I don't live with them." Reno interrupted; he was starting to feel a bit woozy and weak. All this getting upset was probably not good for his concussion, as it got his adrenaline pumping and heart beating faster which made the throbbing in his skull quicken.

"Alright, who do you live with? We have to tell someone, kid" The woman said finally, giving into Reno's game. Said redhead eyed the woman a bit in suspicion, debating if he could trust her or not with what he could tell her.

"My boyfriend's house. With his parents." He relented, the eyeing continued, gauging her reaction to his words.

"Alright. Number?" She asked without missing a beat, like it didn't matter at all. Reno blinked in surprise, not used to getting treated as such after saying something like that before chanting off the number to the woman. She wrote it down on the clipboard she had silently before leaving, not saying another word which left Reno to blink dumbly at her. Another nurse and what seemed to be an intern walked in and asked him about the pain and he could only nod dumbly when they asked if he was in pain and if he wanted some more pain killers.

The new dosage took the edge of the pain off, but didn't remove all of it. Which he was fine with, he didn't mind a bit of pain but what he was dealing with had been far too much for him to he realized now.

The original nurse returned with a slightly sour look, disdainfully looking at the clipboard for a moment before lifting her eyes to the redhead.

"No answer. Got another number we can try?" She asked with a tilt of her head, the news made Reno curse shamelessly, and he sighed and closed his eyes, thinking of any other number that was available. "What about this boyfriend? He has a cell phone?" She asked and Reno shook his head.

"It's in the shop. He was getting it back tomorrow." He groaned, wanting to rub his palms into his eyes but knew better than to do that, knowing he'd make pain all but explode in his nerves, which were frayed and shot at this point. His utter irritation was down though, but he blamed the pain, it was hard to be irritated and in pain at the same time. For Reno anyway.

Downstairs Zack, Cloud and Rude had all arrived, first of the many that were to come. Zack walked numbly over to the chairs, not feeling up to going up and asking of his friends, so Cloud walked with Rude and asked about Angeal, while Rude calmly at this point asked of Reno.

Neither student got a straight answer, which made Cloud sigh and ask to be informed if they got any information and he returned to Zack, sitting down beside him and leaning his head against the elder student, not out of comfort for himself, but for Zack. He knew this had to be tearing Zack up on the inside, he was so close to both Angeal and Reno.

Rude's calm and patience were tested as he didn't take no for an answer, eyes glaring behind his glasses as he frowned down at the woman behind the desk, not enjoying her snooty attitude.

"No you don't understand. It's a simple question and I'm not going to take some corporate hospital business bullshit. He's fifteen, average height, hair as red as a fire truck and I'm not exaggerating. It's long in the back, a pony tail." He repeated slowly, with an obviously upset undertone to it. "Blue eyes if he's awake with two birthmarks under each and he answers to Reno."

Cloud had succeeded in bringing Zack from his near trance, the sophomore wrapping his arm around the blond's shoulders, knowing what Cloud was doing and why, and was thanking the blond in the only way the elder could think of at the moment. He turned his head and nuzzled his face into the soft blond spikes, seeking comfort in the familiar scent and feel. He wasn't a mess though, like most would have thought he'd be. He wasn't panicking and he wasn't freaking out. It was as if someone had pulled the plug of his emotions out of the socket, leaving him bare and blank.

The blond teenager worried for everyone it seemed. Zack, Rude, Reno and Angeal. And then everyone that knew the two involved in the crash; Angeal's parents, Rude's parents, all of their friends. He didn't once think of how he'd be handling this if he didn't have all of this to distract him from that. He couldn't help but thank Angeal mentally, thanking him that he'd made Zack stay at the party and not have him go with the elder on his run to the store. He knew he wouldn't have been able to handle this if Zack was somewhere in the hospital where the nurses and staff wouldn't tell them anything about them yet. He'd drive himself mad with worry, thinking up the worse possible scenario for every possible thing that could have happened to Zack. He felt bad about it, knowing it wasn't right to be thankful that Reno had gone instead of Zack, but he couldn't help it. Zack had pretty much become his world and if he was just yanked away so quickly, after having hardly any time to create any memories, Cloud would have lost it. Completely.

Rude eventually made his way back to the growing group of people that had gathered in the waiting room of the emergency center. The way he walked, no stalked over to them showed he wasn't the least bit happy.

Reno grumbled to himself before sighing, resisting the urge to run his fingers through his hair, knowing he'd only upset his bandages and head with the motion. He chewed at his cut lip for a moment before wincing from the pain of the action, which brought him out of his head a bit. He glanced to the door when he heard the nurse's footsteps, the sight of her only made him even more confused before he sighed again and looked down at the bed before lifting his eyes up to the woman's face.

"Would it be possible for me to like… Tell you my first name? Incase anyone asks about me? I'm just… I don't want to make anyone wait down there worried out of their minds when I'm okay…" He asked finally, really just thinking of Rude, but knew Zack and Cloud and some of their other friends would be worried. Whether it was mostly about him or Angeal he wasn't sure and didn't care. He himself was worried about Angeal.

The nurse's brows shot up in surprise for a moment, while she did a small little hum before nodding slowly.

"We could do that," She agreed as her smallish frown turned to a smile, she seemed to be glad that Reno was cooperating, at least a little bit.

"Okay… It's Reno." He announced finally, eyes glancing away from the nurse to at the wall.

"Reno, hm? I'll go see if you were asked about. I'll be back" The nurse said, but instead of walking out she walked towards the redhead, looking at the machines he was hooked up to before tapping his IV bag, "How's your pain? I could give you some more pain killers if its back" She asked, clipboard under one arm at her side.

Reno hummed a little before shrugging a bit, still looking away before sneaking a glance at the woman.

"I'm okay, I'll be okay." Reno muttered, relaxing back against the bed slowly, easing his way as he didn't want to upset his rib any. The nurse nodded and turned back towards the door but paused at the door, seemingly wanting to say something but didn't and continued on her way. Reno sighed and settled down some more, accepting his fate for the time being, knowing he couldn't do anything about the situation with how he was; left with a concussion and a fracture rib and other various cuts and bruises. He couldn't do anything but sit and wait now.

Downstairs the group still had no news of Angeal or Reno. Even after Angeal's parents went up and asked about him. Zack still had hardly moved from his spot, barely even moving a muscle it seemed, and that meant Cloud didn't move either, being there to support Zack and try to comfort the elder student the best he could.

But finally the nurse that had been with Reno had walked down the hall, and into the lobby, the new arrival wasn't anything spectacular and went unnoticed by the worried group of friends. The head nurse behind the desk quirked a brow at the mention of the redhead's name and his description before nodding to herself, eyes over at the group, mainly on Rude who'd raised a little bit of hell. She then nodded over to the group and spoke quietly to the nurse who'd been with Reno, informing her of the questions and the description given about him. She nodded and made her way over to the group, that again, went unnoticed. They all seemed to be in a worried daze.

Cloud noticed first, blinking at her before glancing to Zack then Rude and then back to the nurse herself. She hummed a bit and stood in front of Rude primarily. When the student looked up in confusion she nodded her head for him to follow and started off, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Coming?" Rude nodded slowly and stood up and followed after her, unsure of what she was doing but she looked official. When they'd gotten into the hallway she spoke up about her reason. "I have a patient that I want you to identify" She said, continuing on her way while Rude fumbled in his walk, the words catching him off guard in his mind took them the way most people would. "I heard you asked about a redhead of about fifteen. So I want to know if this is him." She added with a hum, her words kept making Rude nervous though, almost dreading this. Reno couldn't be dead. He just, he couldn't be gone.

The nurse stopped outside of Reno's door and opened said door, gesturing for Rude to go in first, who hesitated before stepping through the doorway only to gasp and rush inside the room when he caught sight of _his_ Reno, his redhead, hooked up and laying in the hospital bed and not on some gurney with a body bag unzipped to show his face for identification purposes.

"Reno!" Reno had his eyes shut but they flew open when he heard Rude's voice, relief washing through him as he watched Rude hurry over and gripped onto Rude tightly when he was hugged, Rude being gentle as he didn't know what parts of Reno were hurt. Reno had however, clung tightly to Rude, not caring that his rip was throbbing in protest and he felt a wave of lightheadedness.

"Rude, Rude" Reno repeated quietly to himself as he clung, before he had to loosen his grip, his head getting too woozy to hang on that tightly anymore. Rude noticed it and slowly let go of Reno, letting him lay back against the bed, he glanced around for a chair only to see the nurse who'd lead him there pushing one over for him.

"Here, I'll be back to check in on him later, I've got other patients to look after now." She said and then turned and left the two students alone. Rude turned and looked back at Reno, relief and happiness on his face as well as some concern and worry.

"God, Ren, when Tidus said that you'd gotten in an accident I almost flipped out, but you're not hurt that bad, are you?" Rude said after a few moments of silence, hands wrapped around one of Reno's. Reno shook his head and smiled a little sadly.

"No, yo. I'm okay. I just have a concussion and a fractured rib or something. I'll be fine. Angeal's worse off, the van hit his side. I don't know how badly he got hurt but it was a lot worse than me." Reno replied, sighing a bit, "I wish I knew how he was, the nurse didn't have any idea about him."

"The others tried asking about him too, no one got a straight answer. Zack hasn't even moved since we got here, he's like, zoned out." Rude explained, sighing a little as well "I hope he's okay"

"That's all we can do now, is hope, yo" Reno agreed, before smiling a bit at Rude, "but your Ren's okay. You woulda been told earlier but they wanted my 'parent's' number. I wouldn't give them it. You know what my step-dad would do. Mum wouldn't give two shits though." Reno added after a slightly pause. Rude nodded and smiled, leaning over and kissing Reno's cheek.

"That's okay, sure the wait was nerve-wracking but I dealt with it." Rude assured, leaning back after kissing Reno's cheek. Reno nodded and smiled happily at the kiss, leaning back and getting all comfortable.

"Okay, you could go tell everyone else that I'm okay, if you want to." Reno said after comfortable silence. Rude looked at him as if he'd just grown a second head, and scoffed a bit.

"You think I'm going to let you leave my sight? Never mind me willingly leaving? No, I'm not going anywhere" Rude said firmly, but not harshly like some might. Reno's lips spread into a fond smile as Rude ranted a bit, chuckling to himself.

"Heheh, alright. I, of course, don't mind, yo." Reno assured, settling and sighing, a good part of the stress on his shoulders disappearing and melting away.

Cloud hummed a bit while he watched Rude follow the woman, wondering what she was doing, but hoped that she'd only brought him to Reno. He shifted a bit and settled back against Zack's shoulder, still doing all he could to comfort the elder.

Eventually though, a doctor stepped into the waiting room and stepped over to Angeal's parents and asked them to come with, much like the nurse had done with Rude. Cloud could only hope for the best.

Surprisingly enough Zack started to come around, moving a bit more and glancing around instead of staring at the same tile for what seemed like forever. He glanced around the small waiting room, looking at the faces of their friends who worried with them about both of the students that had been involved in the crash until Zack turned his head to look at Cloud with a soft smile, leaning down just a bit to press a kiss to his forehead.

"Thanks for the comfort, Spike" He murmured softly, using the affectionate nickname he's come up with for Cloud. Said name got a small smile out of Cloud, and a tiny chuckle.

"No need to thank me, Zack. I did it 'cause I care" He replied, leaning back against Zack in more of a resting posture than one that was meant to bring comfort to the darker haired teen. Zack smiled happily, or as happily as he could given their circumstance, and cuddled with Cloud a little, using it to take his mind off of the painful situation they'd been dealt with.

The almost peacefully calm worry was soon shattered, at the confirmation of the front desk, a nurse walked into the waiting room, stationing herself in front of the group of worried students. She cleared her throat, not to get attention, but to try and make it so she wouldn't have to deliver the news with a quivering voice.

"I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, is that Reno is okay. He's suffered minor injuries and will be out of the hospital in a few days time. The bad news... However, is that Angeal Hewley didn't make it. He passed away on the operating table. I'm very sorry for your loss." The nurse announced a sad look on her face for the second half of the news she had to deliver. She hung her head a bit before looking back up at the stunned group of friends. "I can take a few people to Reno's room, but not everyone at once." She added with a small attempted smile.

Cloud looked at Zack who's face had gone to a painfully blank look before he hung his head a bit, eyes tightly shut before looking back up, glancing at Cloud and nodding. Cloud smiled slightly at Zack for a little bit of comfort and stood, holding his hand out for Zack to take. Zack did and they along with Rude's parents followed after the nurse, wanting to see how Reno was holding up.

When they got to the room they all breathed a deep sigh of relief, seeing Reno was hardly hurt. The redhead was laying back and relaxing some, eyes shut, but he wasn't asleep, at the sound of the footsteps he opened his eyes and glanced over at the door, seeing the four newcomers he gave a small smile and lifted a hand in a slight wave.

"Yo..." He greeted, getting Rude's attention on the newcomers, who turned and gave them all a nod. Reno frowned a bit at Zack's face, it still being one that lacked most emotions, he regarded Zack, giving him a sad look "He didn't make it did he?" knowing Zack would know what he was asking.

"No. They said he died while in surgery..." Zack informed quietly, still not exactly knowing how to deal with the loss of Angeal just yet. Reno drew in a deep breath as if he had a jolt of pain and nodded.

"The van hit his side. I knew he was worse off, but I still hoped he was okay… Least he's not in any pain, yo and didn't die painfully… since it was on the operating table he had to be knocked out." Reno pointed out, trying to do what he could himself to give Zack and Cloud some comfort, knowing they had really gotten along with the older male and he knew that Zack almost looked up to Angeal in a brotherly way. Zack looked up when Reno started to talk, face relaxing from the painfully blank expression he had to a simply sad one.

"That's... True, I'd much rather have him in no pain." He agreed before sighing and shaking his head a bit.

They all fell into a small chatter, Rude's mother fretting a bit over Reno, which made Reno blush a little and squirm under her attention, not used to being mothered but appreciated it none the less. Rude laughed a little at the two, which after the first laugh had been had, the rest soon followed. They decided that Angeal wouldn't want them to be sad for too long, having been on to always move forward they decided to do the same, moving on, forgetting the pain for now, it was renewed when Angeal was buried, but they all soon accepted it and moved on with their lives, keeping Angeal in the back of their thoughts.

Reno healed rather quickly, under the watchful eyes of Rude and his mother. He suffered no lasting effects from the accident, just a few scars here and there. It took everyone a long time to truly get over Angeal, even though they acted as if they were over it, most weren't. Especially Zack and Reno, both suffered bouts of sudden depression, Reno's went away before Zack's, as was expected. Cloud did what he could to comfort Zack during these times, and it'd work usually, only when Zack was extremely upset did Cloud have to wait it out, wait for Zack to recover from it. As it was, Zack only had one major mental breakdown from it, a small minor one later on, but Cloud would always manage to keep him from getting that bad.

Soon, the end of the school year was upon them, and everyone was relieved to be getting out of school in less than a month, many planned to use the summer to heal so the next year wouldn't be so bad for them all.

Things were settled and everyone was enjoying the end of the hockey season, Reno had to sit out of the last of the games from his injuries but they still managed to get into the playoffs, but didn't win this year, not being as good without their captain to lead them.

Soon one of the last Fridays was upon the students of the high school, and when Zack got up that morning he wasn't feeling his best, but decided to shrug it off and tough it out, school was almost out than their exams and then they'd be free for summer, a much needed break for most of them. He managed to get out to the spot where he and Cloud would meet up at to walk the rest of the way to school.

On the way there, Zack just continued to feel worse and worse, the movement not being good for him but he ignored it for now and continued onward, wanting to see Cloud none the less. Though due to his sudden illness, his usually fast pace was slowed significantly, making Cloud arrive at their spot before Zack, which usually was the other way around. Zack usually got there first and waited for Cloud to arrive. So naturally, when Zack finally appeared Cloud scampered over to him, meeting him, in concern.

"Zack? What took you?" The blond had asked, head tilted to the side as he gave Zack a once over, trying to see if anything was obviously wrong with Zack. He looked a little flush, and wasn't standing as straight as he usually did, he also looked tired. "You alright?" Zack blinked at the questions before giving a small smile at his boyfriend, knowing that Cloud was a slight worry wart.

"I'm okay, I just don't feel very good today. I can tough it out. No need to worry about me, Spike, I'll be fine." Zack said, trying to reassure the younger blond freshman, but seemed to only worry him more as he got a frown in return to his given smile. Cloud stepped closer and raised his hand to place it against Zack's forehead than cheek, frown deepening at whatever he felt.

"You're burning up, go back home. Does your mom work today?" Cloud said firmly than asked, wanting to know so he'd know if he'd have to ditch and take care of Zack for the day instead, neither missed much school at all so it was fine to if need be. Zack nodded at the question, frowning some.

"Yea, she went to work today, why?" Zack asked, blinking when Cloud physically turned him around and began to push him back towards his house, being pretty serious about the elder getting back home to rest.

"Okay, I'm staying with you than, so I can look after you. You need to sleep this off; it's early so you might be able to get over it with a few long naps and some good food" Cloud replied with a small smile, having gotten Zack to walk on his own and was now at his side, arms wrapped around one of Zack's in a slight hug. Zack smiled at the words, knowing Cloud would do just that and make sure he got better as quickly as he could.

"Alright, I was going to argue, but there'd be no point. You'd win anyway." Zack chuckled slightly, pulling his arm from Cloud in order to wrap it around the younger so he could return the affection. He did hope they wouldn't miss anything today, or at least, not a lot. It was the end of the year though, so neither would probably miss much from their absent day.

Oh how he was wrong.

"Mmm, yum. The smell of the school's lunch." Reno commented sarcastically, poking at the food on his tray with a fork, it got a round of chuckles from the rest of the group; they had all stationed themselves at their morning table, having had to come in for lunch now that it was spring and the trees the school had planted around the area were blooming and smelling down right horrible. Most common analogy was 'Dead, decaying fish'. So they sought shelter inside.

"You know you love it, Reno" Tidus teased from across the table which got a fry chucked at his face from the redhead.

"Shut your face, Tidus. You don't eat lunch so your point is now invalid!" Reno declared, sticking his tongue out at Tidus and pushing the tray off to the side, deciding that it wasn't worth getting possible food poisoning over. Rude and the rest of their friends laughed at the two, knowing they weren't being serious with each other's taunts.

"You two are so immature and childish," Tifa commented from her spot beside Aerith, snorting a little in a way that got an unamused look from Tidus and a displeased one from Reno. Neither of the teens enjoyed Tifa's presence, Reno especially. He didn't like how she'd try to get between Cloud and Zack a few times. They were his friends and he didn't like anyone who tried to mess with them. Reno had a very protective nature about him.

Rude had also sent her a displeased look, not liking her simply because she'd upset Reno once before. So, the eldest there didn't have much of a liking for the dark haired female. They all settled back down, Reno and Rude sharing a quiet conversation between themselves, whispers and silent looks that only the other would get, using words and phrases as an almost code.

It was when Tifa stood to put her tray away that the first sound rang through the room, a loud gunshot. As it echoed Tifa fell limply to the floor of the cafeteria, tray clattering to the ground noisily, and blood oozing out of the hole shot into her head.

Screams erupted from the cafeteria, and some students tried to run from the open room to a hallway, most made it but as they did, some were shot down, either dead or injured. Rude had shoved Reno down to the floor while he himself ducked, getting under the table and getting Reno down with him, covering most of Reno with his own body while the rest of their group hit the floor as well, laying flat on their stomachs, hoping it'd make them seem nonthreatening to whoever was shooting off the rounds.

Things calmed as much as they could given the situation for a minute, the shooting stopping and the screaming stopping, an overly eerily silence covering the large room, aside from quiet groans and moans of pain from the students that had been shot, but weren't dead yet.

Reno peeked out from under his arms, which were covering his head and glanced around trying to see who was behind the shooting only to gasp silently as his eyes went wide, seeing not just one person, but three, and the three were well known to the school. The silver-haired triplets, older brothers to Riku, who was somewhat in Reno's group of friends but Reno didn't consider him a friend as he knew nothing about him.

"Ru…! Ru, it's the triplets." Reno whispered to Rude, being very quiet about it, wanting to warn Rude about the new knowledge. Rude glanced up to where Reno was staring and hummed very quietly.

"I see… It would have been hard enough to take out one guy, not three… Fuck." Rude whispered back before cussing quietly, not being one to swear a lot it got Reno to raise his brow, the redhead was usually the more vulgar one in speech, but couldn't blame the elder given the situation they'd been thrown into.

"What! What the hell are you two talking about? You can't take on a guy with a gun! Forget three!" Tidus whispered hastily at them, having heard them as he was beside the two of them. Reno turned and glared at him slightly.

"If we don't who will, yo?" Tidus snorted slightly and shook his head, rolling his eyes at Reno.

"Oh, I don't know, the Police maybe? You'll just get yourselves killed."

"I'd listen to him, guys… Those three aren't very mentally sound…" Aerith spoke up, but still quietly, from where she was laying, she had a scared look in her eyes but she was over all pretty calm, being one of the only ones that weren't having a full blown panic attack. Reno grumbled quietly but nodded after a moment.

"Alright fine, but if there's an opportunity I say we go for it. Like if only one of them is around." Reno said firmly, glancing around at the few friends scattered around them, eyes resting on Tifa for a moment before turning back to Rude, sharing a silent look with the elder teen.

"I agree, it's risky, but if we can stop it…" Rude said quietly, staying huddled down which meant Reno was forced to stay down as well. Aerith sighed and nodded slowly, making Tidus glance between the three of them and groan a bit.

"Okay, okay, fine! I'll help but only when it's certain we can do it." He relented with a small huff. The group of four stayed where they were, keeping an eye on the three until they'd all took on shocked faces. Two of the Triplets, Loz and Yazoo were heading off in opposite directions, seemingly taking a scout of the school. Leaving Kadaj alone in the large cafeteria, Reno glanced over at Rude, the elder nodded and shifted to let Reno out from under him and then they glanced around at all the other students that were down like they were, most looked scared out of their minds, like they should be.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Rude asked Reno, turning to look at the redhead lying beside him; the younger hummed a bit and tapped at his chin some, trying to think of a plan for them to use that wouldn't get one of them killed.

"Well, I'm not too sure, but if we can sneak up on him that'd be best." Reno said with a nod, glancing around the cafeteria to see just how they could sneak up on the gun wielding maniac. "I could try crawling around there, see? He probably wouldn't notice me if I stay sneaky enough. Don't even, Ru. I know you're giving me that look, so stop. I'm the only one here sneaky enough to do it!" Reno snapped quietly to Rude, feeling the look Rude was giving him. Rude huffed a bit and didn't relent on his look, still giving the look.

"Ren…" He warned quietly, getting Reno's attention. Reno sighed and rolled his eyes, shifting closer to him in order to snuggle the elder some.

"It'll be fine, Ru. You know me. I'll be okay." Reno assured Rude, knowing the elder needed it, and he himself needed it as well, because even though he didn't show it, he was just as scared as the other students a ways away, but didn't show it because he knew Rude wouldn't take that very well. Reno nuzzled Rude some and stayed close to Rude for a few minutes, turning his head when he felt a small kiss to his cheek, he gave Rude a small smile and sweet kiss.

After a few moments they broke apart and Reno nuzzled their noses together, staring at Rude silently before pressing a peck to Rude's lips again.

"I love you, yo. I'll be back as soon as I can," Reno said to Rude quietly enough so only the two of them could hear it. Rude nodded and nuzzled his face against Reno's, holding him close and tight, not wanting to let him go. Rude was scared, scared that Reno'd get hurt, but he had faith in his crafty little redhead and trusted him to at least try. Because Reno proved a good point, the other three of them wouldn't be able to pull off sneaking around.

"I love you too, Reno, be safe." The elder mumbled into Reno's ear, than pressed a kiss to it before letting the redhead go and watched as Reno very slowly turned and started to basically army crawl at the speed of a snail around to where he could be able to sneak up on Kadaj. More than once he had to stiffen and be as still as he could when Kadaj would turn in his direction.

Unluckily for Reno and the rest of the small group, Kadaj had already noticed him, and had his plans on what to do. So he waited, and would let Reno get close, though he was slightly remorseful, he'd rather let Reno live, but if he proved hostile Kadaj wouldn't hesitate in taking him out.

When Reno had gotten considerably close, Kadaj let out a sigh and turned on his heel, stalking over to the redhead who was lying on the floor on his stomach, but once he noticed Kadaj got to his feet in a matter of seconds, he didn't show any threatening signs, arms at his sides, he didn't want to piss off the youngest and probably least sane one, especially since he had a gun in his arms.

"Why, it's nice to see you, Reno." Kadaj greeted, being overly sweet and almost sarcastic about it, with his traditional sneer. Reno resisted his usual eye roll and nodded slowly, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Kadaj," The redhead returned, being as polite as he could muster, again, not wanting to piss the slightly shorter male off. Kadaj chuckled a near snicker, sighing again only more of a happy sigh, or pleased.

"I do wonder though, what brings your scrawny ass up here, hmm? Thought you'd be huddled down with your precious Rude." Kadaj replied, voice still holding the sweet but sarcastic tone, almost insulting Reno, seeming to try and get a rise out of the redhead. This didn't work but got Rude to glare at Kadaj, not that the silver haired teen cared any.

"Oh, just wondering _why_ you're terrorizing the school, yo. I mean, what reason to you three have? It's not like anyone teased you three." Reno hummed an unamused look on his face as he shrugged his shoulders some. "Where are your lackeys anyway? I don't see them anywhere, yo" Reno tacked on.

"Oh, because Mother told us to, of course. We wouldn't dare disobey Mother!" Kadaj spouted with a slightly crazed grin, tilting his head slightly with a small maniacal laugh. Reno mentally rolled his eyes, Again with the Mother crap. Everyone in the school knew that the triplets and Riku's mother died after having Riku, she got cancer and couldn't fight it, didn't have the money to. She refused treatment , saying she didn't want to waste money on just delaying the inevitable and wanted her boys and their father to have the money so they could still survive. Riku had long accepted his mother's death, and at times it seemed Loz and Yazoo did too, but it was Kadaj that refused to believe that his beloved Mother was gone and no longer there.

"I see, but why would your mother want you to kill people like this?" Reno asked further, taking half a step back from Kadaj, but not so much so that it was obvious to the crazed teen. Kadaj seemed to pause for a moment and Reno almost set his plan into action, but Kadaj came out of his thoughts with a slight cackle.

"Why! Because! Mother says none of you are _deserving_. If you aren't deserving than you shouldn't _be_ here!" Kadaj declared, raising his hands into the air with a laugh. Reno eyed the gun before shifting his weight a bit, leaning on his left leg a bit.

"What about me, hm? Am I deserving?" Reno asked quietly, catching Kadaj's attention. The teen grinned a crazed grin and slowly lowered his arms, which held his gun, until they held the gun straight, pointing at Reno's chest while Kadaj tilted his head again.

"Mother says no… Bye-bye, Reno," Kadaj said in a slight baby voice, laughing more. Reno nodded slowly and hummed to himself.

"Good-bye, Kadaj," Reno said back, which got Rude to widen his eyes at the scene before him; he'd almost jumped up when Kadaj pointed the gun at _his_ Reno. But Tidus all but jumped on his back and Aerith shook her head, hand on his shoulder. "Though," Reno added, while Kadaj was still laughing which got the silver haired teen to stop laughing and look at the redhead in confusion, while the three teens a ways away watching held their breath and watched Reno closely and Kadaj as well. "I don't give a shit _what_ your mother thinks!" Reno said with a lazy smirk and in a second his hands were out of his pockets and he knocked the gun away from his chest just as Kadaj pulled the trigger, a look of anger on his face at the insult to his precious mother.

"How dare you!"

When Kadaj's gun was knocked away, instead of the bullet biting into the redhead's chest, it tore into his stomach, hitting whatever internal organs were in its way. Reno didn't do so much as flinch, cussing mentally, but not letting the pain blind him. He grabbed the gun out of Kadaj's hands and tossed it away, turning slightly and kicking out with his leg, hitting the silverette in the face with his heavy boot. From the way Reno acted, and the position the three were in, they didn't know that Reno had been hit by the bullet, no blood dripped yet as it was soaking his clothes instead.

"No, how dare you, Kadaj. These lives weren't yours or your mother's to take." Reno said back, taking a moment to spit the saliva out of his mouth. Kadaj laughed from his spot on the ground, having been twisted and had fallen to the ground, and within a few seconds, his laughing got even more crazed than before.

"You think you're so brave and heroic don't you? Saving the day! Ha! You're _nothing,_ Reno. Even your own Mother didn't want you!" Kadaj yelled back at Reno, still wanting to get a rise out of the redhead.

"I've never thought of that woman as my mother." Reno replied calmly, or well, as calmly as one could with blood seeping out of your stomach, which, now that Reno thought about it he was feeling rather weak. All this blood loss was getting to his head. He shook his head and swayed a bit.

"Mmm, too bad, too bad. Mother's are wonderful things, you know. But you'll never understand!" Kadaj said, tauntingly at first before snapping the end, sitting up and holding a small pistol he'd had stashed on him at Reno, smirking as his finger didn't hesitate nor give Reno time to answer and pulled the trigger. Reno didn't have time to do anything but take the hit, farther up on the right side of his chest. The impact knocked him off his feet, making him land on his back and groan in pain. Kadaj laughed maniacally, making to stand and finish Reno off seeing he was still breathing, before another shot rang off in the cafeteria and Kadaj fell back with a limp thud, a hole in his head much like Tifa's.

Rude was up and running towards Reno in a heartbeat, knocking Tidus off of him in the process, though he didn't pause like he normally would to see if his friend was alright, he had to see if Reno was okay, and that he was still alive and not dead on the cafeteria floor just a ways away.

"RENO!" Rude slid to a halt beside Reno, leaning down and looking over the not one, but two holes in Reno. "Damnit!" He hadn't known Reno had gotten hit the first time! He would have _done_ something if he did. Reno was still conscious, in pain but still awake. He looked at Rude and gave him a small smile.

"R-Ru…" He said before coughing suddenly, hacking up a small bit of blood, "Ugh, that was stupid, yo." He groaned in pain, eyes shutting to try and block out the pain, Rude shook his head and decided to try and stop some of the bleeding by adding pressure to the worse of the two holes.

"Don't talk, just worry on breathing," Rude instructed, trying to keep himself in control and not panic over the state of the redhead at the moment.

Stationed at the door was a small team of police, all dressed in almost swat uniforms sans the "S.W.A.T." in white bold letters on their uniforms. They hurried over to check Kadaj, one bending down to see if he was alive still while another radioed the medics outside the walls to hurry in, which they did.

The rest of the day seemed to be a blur. A medic team retrieved Reno from the ground and put him in the back of an ambulance for the second time that school year and shipped him with Rude tagging along, to the hospital for treatment. On the way they managed to stop most of the bleeding, but Reno had passed out as well on the way.

The police managed to track down Loz and Yazoo; they had shot each other in a double suicide. And all the kids and teachers that were hurt were taken to the hospital while the dead were carried out. From the initial count, twelve students were dead, not including the triplets, and two teachers were dead as well. More than twenty were injured from the ordeal, it was the worst school shooting that Twilight Town had ever seen, the most deadly.

A second count had to be taken unfortunately, as some of the injured students didn't make it.

Reno happened to be one of the unfortunate. While the surgeons were trying to remove the bullets from his chest and stomach he ended up being weaker than the doctors first thought and after getting his heart going once from the difibulator, it didn't work the second time around and they had to call time of death for him.

Reno, along with two other students brought the total dead count to twenty including Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz.

The news hit the group hard. Not only had they lost Angeal earlier that school year, but not Reno was gone. When Zack and Cloud heard the news, both were devastated, and slightly relieved that they'd stayed home, Zack's mother almost had a cow before Zack told her he was at home. And Cid and Vincent had their own small panic about Cloud. Both parents were breathing a little easier knowing their boys had stayed home.

Rude's family took the news horribly, his mother broke down in sobs while Rude seemed to just break, reverting back to how he was before he'd met the redhead and said redhead got under his skin more easily then he should have.

The next few weeks were quiet, filled with grieving and remorse for all of the deaths. Nothing major happened; it just seemed to be a monotonous period of time. Rude tried to make the best out of his life now that Reno, his Reno, was no longer there. But it was kind of hard to do that when there was a constant ache that no amount of pain killers could dull. By the third week without Reno, Rude decided he couldn't stand it any longer; he spent the day with his parents and when it was over, left them a small note, an explanation why, knowing they'd understand his reasons. His note was more of an apology to them that he couldn't bring himself to say aloud and thanking them for being such good parents and for all the good they'd done and how sorry he was to do this to them so soon, knowing they had grown to love Reno like their own, and hoped they'd understand. He left it on his desk while he contemplated over how.

Just how. And he decided to be simple and just end it the quickest way he knew how. He fetched his father's gun from his usual spot after waiting for them to leave, scribbled down a sorry for resorting to using it, and sighed, staring at the weapon before simply lifting it and getting it over with, pulling the trigger of the gun aimed at his temple with no hesitation at the thought of seeing and being able to be with Reno again.

It made him smile.

It didn't cause a big stir in the town; his parents kept it a small affair, not out of shame, but out of courtesy. They knew the two would have hated to have caused controversy like that.

School, it all started there, and seemed to end there as well.

~o~

**A.N: Hey! You made it to the safehouse! Lols no, sorry, I'm into Left 4 Dead right now, so ignore my fangirling. Thank you for reading that horrible thing. I absolutely don't like how I ended it and I apologize for it, but I was sick of this already, I've been working on it on and off for more then a month. I hope you liked it and review if you want to. I won't mind either way. **


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